In short Cyber Essentials helps protect your business by protecting you from the most commonly known cyber-attacks. No business owner wants their company to be at risk of any complications which could compromise their ability to operate. In terms of cyber security, we highly recommend companies take the necessary actions to best protect themselves. This is why we encourage achieving a Cyber Essentials certificate.
Let’s break down the 5 main areas of the certification and how Cyber Essentials helps protect your business.
1. Access Control
Cyber Essentials covers who has access to your files. This is something businesses often overlook. It is important to consider who has access to what. Do all your staff really need access to all your files? Having managed access to administrator accounts means you can protect who has access to your data and services.
2. Software Updates
The Cyber Essentials scheme also ensures all devices are kept up to date with software updates. Staying current with the latest software updates and security patches protects you against the newest cyber-attacks and vulnerabilities. Updates not only add new features they also are designed to tackle the latest threats on software. To pass the certification all devices must be kept on the latest updates.
3. Firewalls & Routers
Firewalls are designed to protect businesses from users who are not authorised from gaining access. So by having a firewall in place, you create a so-called ‘buffer zone between your IT network and any other external links. This will allow you to analyse any incoming traffic. Meaning you can decide who to allow access to on your network. Therefore protecting your business from hackers.
4. Secure Configuration
Secure configuration covers ensuring you choose the most secure setting for your devices and software. This includes changing passwords regularly as well as removing unused accounts and software. It is easy to forget to remove any unused users and software. However, it is very important! Taking such measures massively reduces the risk of potential cyber-attacks. Therefore, protecting you and your data from being compromised.
5. Malware Protection
Malware protection is another key part of the Cyber Essentials scheme. Using properly configured anti-malware software will protect you from viruses and other malware risks. Anti-malware software will only allow trusted applications to run which reduces the risk of unsafe applications running in the background without you knowing.
Why is protecting your business so important?
Figures from 2021, show 39% of businesses identified a cyber-attack on their business. Of the 39%, 1 in 5 identified a more sophisticated attack type such as a denial of service, malware, or ransomware attack. With 31% of those businesses estimating they were attacked at least once a week. Overall averaging at a cost of £4,200 for small businesses rising to £19,400 for medium and large businesses. Could your business afford such a loss?
Of course, we should also consider not only the financial impact such attacks can have. But also the damage it can do to customers’ trust in your business. As well as the likelihood of them being a returning customer. Would you trust a business if you knew they had gaps in their cyber security which meant they had fell victim to an attack?
No measures can completely eliminate the risk. However, achieving a cyber essentials certification reduces the risk by at least 80%!
Let us help!
Here at The Unite Group, we can guide you through Cyber Essentials and help you protect your business. We have in-house Cyber Essentials assessors to not only approve certifications but also provide support throughout the application process. To find out more, book a quick call with our team today!
